Born of Silence (Immortal Guardians) (26 page)

She thought she saw a hint of a flush cross Garrick’s face, and that made her own deepen. She smiled, trying to cover her own reaction to him.

“Thank you,” she said, curtsying.
She caught sight of
his clothing, noticing that he, too, had changed since their separation. He looked more like a royal now, dressed in the fine clothing that many of the other gentlemen wore in the room. Though the others had badges adorning their jackets and he didn’t.

“Have you forgotten your manners, cousin?” Cedric asked, stepping close to Garrick’s ear. “I thought we discussed how you are supposed to interact with my guest.”

Garrick’s lips tightened and he nodded once. Just as he moved to walk away, he stepped in toward Dani, placing his lips next to her ear. “I won’t be far.” Then he walked away.

Dani stiffened. She wanted to follow him, to be near him. He was the only one she knew. The only one she trusted.

Cedric patted her arm, turning on his charm as he looked at her. “Well then, my dear. I have reserved a spot for you right next to me, as guest of honor.”

She looked at him, her eyes narrowing. “What’s going on? Why can’t Garrick talk to me?”

“Because you are mine.” He shrugged, leading her toward the far wall where the thrones sat.

“But I’m not. I’m not yours.”

“You are at present,” Cedric said nonchalantly. He led her onto the pedestal and then urged her to sit in the chair
to the left of the much larger
center throne, which he sat in.

“Who is that one for?” Dani gestured toward the throne on the right that was just slightly smaller than the one he sat in.

“That is reserved for my queen, should I take one.” He
regarded
her again, a smile forming across his face. “I must say, Danielle, that you look simply ravishing. I had told the maidservants to dress you in blue, but I have never seen a lady so beautiful. Blue quite suits you.” His eyes twinkled as he slowly perused her figure, landing quite noticeably on the swell of her breasts for a few seconds before lowering to her slim waist and shimmering fabric as the skirts cascaded over the chair. “Ravishing,” he said absentmindedly.

Flushing
from his obvious ogling, Dani faced forward, focusing on all the partygoers as they chatted with each other. Once again, she found Garrick within the crowd. He was looking at her from across the room, his face disappearing
from view
as other Fairies moved between them. She gave him a tentative smile, which he quickly reciprocated. They just stared at each other for a while, her body warming at the sight of his heated gaze.

“Dani,” Cedric said, pulling her back into conversation.

She turned toward him. “Uh, Danielle,” she corrected, finding that she didn’t like Garrick’s nickname for her on Cedric’s lips.

“Of course. I heard that you had the pleasure of listening to my
fiddler
during your travels.”

“Sharleigh? Yes, I did.” Just as she replied, she caught sight of Mr. McCray and stood from her seat quickly.

“My lady,” he beamed, bowing low before placing his palm upward between them.

“Mr. McCray. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Oh, the pleasure would be mine. We have a special treat for you tonight. My whole family will be playing.”

“Really?” she asked, looking at the woman and three teenage children standing behind him.
They all looked so happy, and she felt a pang in her heart. What would her life have been like if she were still with her family?
“They all play?”

“Why yes,” Sharleigh replied, pride filling his voice.

“The McCrays are the best musicians on
Túir
,” Cedric said, having stood from his seat to stand beside Dani. “Have you anything special for our honored guest this evening?” He asked
the fiddler
.

“Quite, my lord
,
” he replied with a flourished nod.

“Very well,” Cedric
said. “You may begin and Miss…
.
W
hat
is
your surname, my lady?”

“Weston,” she replied.

“Mr. McCray, please have your family begin the music
.
Miss Weston and I shall have the first dance of the evening.”

Sharleigh bowed formally and joined his family, where they waited for the current musicians to finish their song. As soon as the music ended, the McCrays set up their own instruments and began to play.

“Lady Danielle,” Cedric said, holding his hand out toward her. “Would you honor me with the first dance?”

She
searched
the crowd
and found
that
Garrick still
leaned against the wall
. He had a frown on his face, but nodded once when their gazes met.

“Yes. Thank you.” She took his hand and let him lead her out into the middle of the
floor
, where the other guests had made plenty of room for the king to dance with his guest. One hand rested
on
her waist as the other gripped her hand gently. “I can’t dance,” she admitted. While she’d taken dance classes, she’d never been very good at formal dancing. Dancing with Garrick and Angus the other night had proven that well enough.

“Oh, not to worry,” Cedric said, smiling. “I can.”

He could, in fact, dance. Cedric spun her around the dance floor, graceful as a butterfly. Song after song was played as the two continued to glide around. Dani felt herself start to relax, realizing that she was actually having fun.
Would be having more fun if she were in the arms of the man she craved. S
he caught sight of
him
glowering against the wall as his gaze fixated on them, much the same way other women were glowering at her.

Soon though, Garrick
was no longer alone. Ladies seemed to flock toward him, creating a half circle so they could all talk to him at once. She saw him shake his head just before a lady would turn away, looking angry at whatever he’d denied her. Over and over, Dani witnessed this, and rather than focusing on the dancing, she wondered what was going on with Garrick.

The song ended and everyone stopped to applaud the musicians.

“They’re very good,” Dani said, looking over each of the McCrays. Sharleigh was on his fiddle, while Mrs. McCray played what looked like a table of small bells. One of Sharleigh’s sons strummed a lovely guitar, while the other played the flute. Whenever his daughter took a break from singing, she played a secondary fiddle.

They were wonderful.

Sharleigh’s gaze met hers and he gave her a quick wink. Puffing up his chest, he looked around the crowd. “This next song is ladies’ choice,” his voice boomed.

Cedric turned to Dani, his white teeth gleaming as he smiled. He held out a hand, waiting for her to take it, but she took a single step backward. “I’m sorry,” she said with a small shake of her head as Cedric’s grin fell. “But he did say it is ladies’ choice.”

She turned away
, winding through the crowd as the ladies selected their dance partners.
She rushed through them, h
er gaze clash
ing
with Garrick’s as he remained rooted in place. Other women were walking toward him as well, but even as they reached him first, he looked over the tops of their heads, his eyes fixed on her.

Dani continued to push through the crowd, her shoulders bumping into other people, her oversized skirts bouncing back and forth as she squeezed past. A young blonde woman approached Garrick, curtsying. She couldn’t hear them over the crowd, but she saw Garrick give her a shake of his head even as his eyes found Dani again. He stepped around the girl just as she reached them.

“Would you like to dance?” Dani asked.

He smiled broadly and nodded, inching his way around more people until he reached her. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Well,
I figured that if we
are
supposed to be engaged, we really should act the part.”

Garrick pretended to think about that, drawing his fingers over his chin. “You are a thinker, I’ll give you that.”

They laughed and got into position in order to start the da
nce. Dani
spotted
Sharleigh
as he
gave her another quick wink and started to play.

So, they had an ally.

Her gaze met
Garrick
’s
as he started to twirl her around the dance floor. His eyes didn’t stray from hers, and she relaxed in his strong arms.
The music and the rhythm of their movements lulled her and s
oon it felt as though it was only them, everything
else
fading away around them.

“I meant to say you look breathtaking,” he said suddenly. “Earlier.”

“Thank you. I was thinking the same thing.”

“Well
,
you do look amazing.”

She
laughed
and
poked him in the side. “You know what I mean.”

Garrick laughed as well. His smile faded slowly as
he focused on
her lips.

She forced herself to look away from him as a full-body flush worked through her. Could they do this? Could
she
do this? There were times she couldn’t get the man out of her mind, especially when he looked at her the way he was now. But then, she hadn’t been around other men for years, excluding Pyro and the other guards. But she’d never dreamed of them
.
T
hey’d never worked her into a fervent pitch simply from a look or a touch. There was something special about Garrick. Something that made her want him more than anything she’d ever wanted before.

As she
glanced
around the room, she caught sight of Cedric as he danced with another lady. Her gaze landed on Garrick’s family next. Gabriella held Garrick’s baby sister, Marian, propping her on her hip as she spun slowly around the edge of the dance floor. Every once in a while, a blush would cross Gabriella’s face, and she’d look downward, avoiding someone’s gaze.

Dani tried to see who was causing that reaction, but there were too many people dancing around and she couldn’t get a good view. Fay and Mel stood next to Gabriella. Mel’s arms wound around Fay as they swayed back and forth, appearing content to just watch the others dance. A small pang lurched in Dani’s chest. It was clear how much they adored each other, and yet with Mel’s prosthetic legs, they’d never be able to dance again.

Suddenly Cedric blocked her view as he and his dance partner drew closer to Garrick and Dani.

“I thought I told you to stay away from her, Garrick,” he said, looking angrily at him.

Garrick returned the look with a smile. “I don’t believe you put in any stipulations for ladies’ choice. She chose me.”

There was some serious pride in his statement, and it only made Cedric all the more pissed off. He glared at Garrick before spinning his partner away.

Dani snickered, watching the pair disappear into the crowd.

“I’m sorry I got you into this mess
.”

She looked up at him, surprised
. “What do you mean?”

“
Him
,” he said, pointing his chin toward Cedric. “He’s doing it to get back at me.”

“What did you do anyway?” She stepped in closer to him in order to avoid smacking into another guest as they spun around the floor.
It hadn’t escaped her notice how cold his father had been toward him, and it was clear Cedric didn’t think much of him either.

Garrick shrugged. “I left.”

“You left,” Dani repeated
. “And that’s treason?”

“It was during a time of war. It’s treason because we were in a war.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Ever since I was born, I was meant to be Cedric’s personal guard. His right hand. And because I left him behind, and left my station behind, it’s treasonous.”

“But, aren’t you always at war? With the Harpies, I mean?” she added quietly.

Garrick nodded.

“Still treasonous?”

He nodded again.

“Okay, so why did you leave?”

He remained silent for so long that she didn’t think he’d answer. But even during that time, his eyes never left hers. “My sister,” he said finally.

“Gabriella?”

“No, Abigail. Abby.”

She had heard him mention her name before.
“I haven’t met her yet, have I?”

“You wouldn’t,” he replied. “She died the day I left.”

“It wasn’t intentional,” Garrick explained. “I didn’t mean to leave the realm. I didn’t even know I could. It just sort of happened.”